Registration mapping toolkit for geofences

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for creating a database of geofences and registering geofences, with each geofence in the database being associated with an IP address, preferably an IPV6 address. Each geofence is defined using at least one geographic designator, preferably real property boundaries. Entitlements can be associated with geofences relating to permissive and prohibitive activities within the geofences.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims priority to U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/903,940, filed Feb. 23, 2018, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/204,413, filed Jul.7, 2016, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,906,905, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/007,661, filed Jan. 27, 2016, now U.S.Pat. No. 9,396,344, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/740,557, filed Jun. 16, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,280,559,which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/728,259,filed Jun. 2, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,363,638, each of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to associating physical spaceswith Internet addresses, and more particularly registering geofencesand/or GPS coordinates with an anchor point determined using an IPaddress.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Systems, methods, and devices for creating databases of land arewell-known in the prior art. It is also known to have an IP addressassociated with a general location, such as a city or zip code.Furthermore, location-based beacon technologies have entered the massmarkets providing geo-location and enabling of portable wireless devicesfor venue and in-store customer marketing, sales and CRM services. Realestate ownership and the management of business services within theconstraints of the business space, like a mall or convention center, hasbecome open game for outside competitive customer poaching and otherkinds of interference. Furthermore, geo-fencing could address othercontentious applications and their use, such as texting while driving.Ubiquitous smartphone usage and location based mobile marketing andcommunication have become prevalent in today's society. With 1.75billion smartphone users in 2014 and 85% of the top 100 retailersestimated to be using beacon technology by 2016, opportunities fordetermining the interactions of the smartphones, beacons, and theInternet generally within defined spaces are numerous.

Exemplary US Patent documents in the prior art include:

US Pub. No. 2015/0031398 for “Zone-Based Information Linking Systems andMethods” by Rahnama, filed Jul. 29, 2015 and published Jan. 29, 2015,describes a method of linking to a geo-fenced zone, the methodcomprising: configuring a device to operate as a document processingengine according to zone address identification rules; obtaining, by thedocument processing engine, a digital document; identifying, by thedocument processing engine, at least one zone address token in thedigital document according to the zone address identification rules;resolving the at least one zone address token to a network addressrelated to a target zone; and enabling the device to linkcommunicatively to the target zone according to the network address.

US Pub. No. 2002/0035432 for “Method and system for spatially indexingland” by Kubica, filed Jun. 8, 2001 and published May 31, 2007,describes a method of spatially indexing land by selecting a parcel(100) of land and extending its boundaries (110) to include a portion ofadjacent streets (125) and alleys (122) to define a cell (150). A uniqueidentifier is assigned to the cell as well as a reference point (170)within the cell (150). The reference point has a known location in aglobal referencing system. An internet address is assigned to the cellwhich identifies its location, such as the location of the referencepoint within the cell. This information and other data associated withthe cell is then stored in an OX Spatial Index database and includes thestreet address for the cell and other relevant information such asowner, what type building if any is on the property, location of utilitylines, etc. A Spatial Internet Address which includes the geographiclocation of the cell is assigned for each cell and this information isalso stored in the index. The index thereby created can be used forvarious applications such as determining a user's location and locatinggeographically relevant information by searching the index andconnecting to web sites associated with the user's vicinity.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,920,129 for “Geo-spatial internet protocol addressing”by Preston, filed Nov. 30, 2000 and issued Jul. 19, 2005, describesconversion of latitude and longitude to an addressing scheme thatsupports current TCP/IP (Ipv4) and future addressing (Ipv6/Ipng)requirements. More specifically, it allows a decentralization of theunicast point to a device on the hosted network. Geographical InternetProtocol (geoIP) addressing will facilitate anycast routing schemes inwhich the nearest node has a statically assigned geoIP. Geo-routing andnetwork management become a function of the geoIP address.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,812,027 for “Geo-fence entry and exit notificationsystem” by Obermeyer, filed Aug. 15, 2012 and issued Aug. 19, 2014,describes a method for determining when a mobile communications devicehas crossed a geo-fence. The method comprises (a) providing a mobilecommunications device (209) equipped with an operating system and havinga location detection application resident thereon, wherein the mobilecommunications device is in communication with a server (211) over anetwork (203), and wherein the server maintains a geo-fence database(213); (b) receiving, from the operating system, a notification that (i)the location of the mobile communications device has changed by anamount that exceeds a predetermined threshold, or (ii) that a period oftime has passed; (c) querying the operating system for a data setcomprising the general location of the mobile communications device andthe corresponding location accuracy; (d) transmitting the data set tothe server; and (e) receiving from the server, in response, a set ofgeo-fences (205) proximal to the general location.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,837,363 for “Server for updating location beacondatabase” by Jones, filed Sep. 6, 2011 and issued Sep. 16, 2014,describes a location beacon database and server, method of buildinglocation beacon database, and location based service using same. Wi-Fiaccess points are located in a target geographical area to build areference database of locations of Wi-Fi access points. At least onevehicle is deployed including at least one scanning device having a GPSdevice and a Wi-Fi radio device and including a Wi-Fi antenna system.The target area is traversed in a programmatic route to reduce arterialbias. The programmatic route includes substantially all drivable streetsin the target geographical area and solves an Eulerian cycle problem ofa graph represented by said drivable streets. While traversing thetarget area, Wi-Fi identity information and GPS location information isdetected. The location information is used to reverse triangulate theposition of the detected Wi-Fi access point; and the position of thedetected access point is recorded in a reference database.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,892,460 for “Cell-allocation in location-selectiveinformation provision systems” by Golden, et al., filed Aug. 29, 2014and issued Nov. 18, 2014, describes system and methods for allocatingcells within a virtual grid to content providers according to variouspriority and selection schemes are used to target content delivery toinformation playback devices in a geographically and/or applicationselective manner. The priority schemes, geographical selectivity, andapplication selectivity of the system and methods of the invention allowa content provider to specifically target a desired demographic withhigh cost efficiency and flexibility.

US Pub. No. 2014/0171013 for “Monitoring a mobile device en route todestination” by Varoglu, filed Dec. 17, 2012 and published Jun. 19,2014, describes a system, method and apparatus are disclosed formonitoring a mobile device en route to a destination. A user of amonitored device specifies geo-fence regions along a route to thedestination. Entry and exit of regions triggers the sending of eventnotifications to a monitoring device. Event notifications may be sent ifan estimated time of arrival changes due to delay. Event notificationsmay be sent if the monitored device deviates from a planned route by athreshold distance. Event notifications may be sent through a directcommunication link between the monitored device and monitoring device orthrough a location-based service.

U.S. Pat. No. 8,634,804 for “Devices, systems, and methods for locationbased billing” by McNamara, filed Dec. 7, 2009, and issued Jan. 21,2014, describes devices, systems and methods are disclosed which relateto billing users of a telecommunication network. A billing server is incommunication with a geo-fence database. The geo-fence database containsa plurality of geo-fences. Some geo-fences are associated with a singlemobile communication devices, such as a home geo-fence, work geo-fence,etc., while other geo-fences are global, such as a stadium geo-fence,toll geo-fence, etc. When a mobile communication device enters theperimeter of a geo-fence, a billing server changes the billing rate atwhich connections are billed to the user account or bills another useraccount. The mobile communication device may send a ticket code to thebilling server for a reduced billing rate while within a geo-fence. If amobile communication device enters a toll geo-fence, then the billingserver charges the user account for the toll.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to methods and systems for creating adatabase of geofences, with each geofence in the database beingassociated with a plurality of geographic designators, wherein each ofthe plurality of geographic designators is associated with an IPaddress. The database also includes other relevant informationassociated with the geofence, such as the owner of the geofence, anylicensees of the geofence, and a class of the geofence.

One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method forregistering a geofence in a database of geofences, the method includingdefining a geofence using at least one geographic designator, assigningan internet protocol (IP) address to each of the at least one geographicdesignators defining the geofence, and storing the at least onegeographic designator and the assigned IP address of the at least onegeographic designator in the database of geofences, wherein the IPaddress assigned to each of the at least one geographic designators is aunique identifier of the geographic designator. In a preferredembodiment, the IP address is an IPv6 address. This embodiment ispreferred because of the enhanced functionality that is included withIPv6, including the ability to more closely define the boundaries of thegeofences.

Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method forfinding a geofence in a geofence database, including determining ageographic location, searching for the geographic location in thegeofence database, and identifying at least one geofence associated withthe geographic location, wherein the at least one geofence is defined bya plurality of geographic designators, wherein each geographicdesignator is associated with an IP address.

A further embodiment of the present invention is directed to a geofencedatabase system including a geofence database including at least onegeofence and a server including a processor, wherein the at least onegeofence is defined using at least one geographic designator associatedwith an Internet Protocol (IP) address, wherein the server is operableto register the at least one geofence, the at least one geographicdesignator, and the associated IP address in the geofence database, andwherein the associated IP address is a unique identifier of the at leastone geographic designator.

These and other aspects of the present invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art after a reading of the following description ofthe preferred embodiment when considered with the drawings, as theysupport the claimed invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a virtualized computingnetwork used in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for delivering geofence information based on arequest.

FIG. 3 is one embodiment of a graphical user interface (GUI) for alatitude/longitude geofence search, showing a list of geofences andcorresponding information.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a GUI for fence delivery network,including several options of defining a geofence, including defining thegeofence by real property boundaries, defining the geofence by theradius around a beacon, defining the geofence by the perimeter of abuilding.

FIGS. 5A & 5B show a flowchart illustrating steps for querying ageofence database.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating zoom level to class binding when usinga pyramid projection.

FIG. 7 illustrates a 3-D model overview.

FIG. 8 is a 2-D model overview.

FIG. 9 is a PRIOR ART schematic diagram for geofencing solutions.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for geofencing solutions according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the encoding of a class andentitlement on an IPv6 address.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention provides methods and systems for creating adatabase of geofences, with each geofence in the database beingassociated with a plurality of geographic designators, wherein each ofthe plurality of geographic designators is associated with an InternetProtocol (IP) address. The database also includes other relevantinformation associated with the geofence, such as the owner of thegeofence, any licensees of the geofence, a class of the geofence, andmore.

Advantageously, geofences associated with a plurality of geographicdesignators, wherein each of the plurality of geographic designators isassociated with an IP address provide for improved functionality,characteristics, and qualities of the geofence. Particularly,associating geofences with IPv6 addresses provides for at least improvedsafety, security, privacy, fair competition, competition management,resolution, definition, lookup, and control.

By contrast to the present invention, none of the prior art addressesthe longstanding need for creating a database of geofences, with thegeofences being associated with a plurality of geographic designators,wherein each of the plurality of geographic designators is associatedwith an IP address. The prior art geofences are almost all directed tocentric or centroid technology, such as beacons. In the prior art, thefunctions within the geofence are typically limited to one function,such as advertising. Also, the intent around defining geofences is notas defined as in the present invention. In other words, the intent of anowner of a geofence does not correlate to the actual definition of thegeofence in the prior art. A centroid geofence does not necessarilycover the entire intended area, nor does the centroid geofence onlycover areas that are meant to be covered in the prior art. Instead,devices that the owner of the geofence wishes to receive content mightnot receive content due to the definition of the geofence surroundingthe beacon. Similarly, devices that the owner of the geofence does notwish to receive content might receive content due to the definition ofthe geofence surrounding the beacon. Thus, there remains a need formethods and systems which provide for creating a database of geofences,wherein the geofences are defined by the intent and context of thecontent to be made accessible, inaccessible, or required for deviceslocated within the geofence.

Prior art provides for positioning with mobile communication devices viaoperating systems (such as Google Android and Apple iOS) using latitudeand longitude (Lat/Long) single points, which are always wrong orinaccurate, having both accuracy and range at the level of meters.Mobile operating system vendors use wi-fi, iBeacon, global positioningsystem (GPS), magnetometer, and inertial navigation to determinelocation for mobile communication devices. Note that the presentinvention systems and methods are not used to provide for determiningposition or improve accuracy of the prior art. However, the presentinvention systems and methods advantageously provide for fast andaccurate geofence identification, registration, and lookup via mobiledevices.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a method is provided forfinding a geofence in a geofence database, including determining ageographic location, searching for the geographic location in thegeofence database, and identifying at least one geofence associated withthe geographic location, wherein the at least one geofence is defined bya plurality of geographic designators, wherein each geographicdesignator is associated with an IP address.

Another embodiment of the present invention provides for a geofencedatabase system including a geofence database including at least onegeofence defined by a plurality of geographic designators, wherein eachgeographic designator is associated with an Internet Protocol (IP)address and a server including a processor, wherein the server isoperable to register the at least one geofence and the associated IPaddress in the geofence database and wherein the associated IP addressis a unique identifier of the at least one geofence.

The present invention also provides for a method for registering ageofence in a database of geofences, the method including defining ageofence using at least one geographic designator, assigning an internetprotocol (IP) address to each of the at least one geographic designatorsdefining the geofence, and storing the at least one geographicdesignator and the assigned IP address of the at least one geographicdesignator in the database of geofence, wherein the IP address assignedto each of the at least one geographic designators is a uniqueidentifier of the geofence.

In preferred embodiments, the IP address is an IPv6 address, which hasenhanced functionality that is associated with IPv6, including providingfor improved geofence registration, faster geofenceidentification/lookup, and the ability to more accurately define thegeofences, including the intent of the geofence owner for classes and/orentitlements that provide for permissions for activities, access, and/ormessages within the associated geofence. In preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, the geofence is a non-centroid or non-centricgeofence.

Encoding anchor point(s) with IPv6 addresses may be illustrated by FIG.11 showing pyramid projections having multiple levels. In a flatprojection, zoom level 1 provides for coverage of the entire planet;these expand to zoom level 32 at 64 bit density, which provide for classand/or use or entitlement identification within the metadata for lookup.By way of example and not limitation, a tile mapping system may be used;tile naming provides for a directory structure that indexes for searchand lookup within the systems and methods of the present invention.

In systems and methods of the present invention, geofence anchor pointsare provided and defined as a member point on a boundary of a geofenceor within a geofence boundary and are used as the geofence address,i.e., the geofence address that is registered with the geofenceregistry. Notably, multiple overlapping geofences can occupy the samephysical space or geographic space. Significantly, in the presentinvention, the geofences are defined not by lat/long but by a memberpoint or anchor point, which can be on the boundary of a geofence orwithin the boundary of that geofence. The intent or purpose of thegeofence, which is defined by the entitlements and/or classesestablished by the geofence owner, is established with the anchor pointused as the geofence address (IPv6 preferably).

By way of example for illustration purposes, in software or mobileapplications (Apps) that monitor specific types of geofences (or fences)then a region of interest (ROI) is provided for the geofence coveredwithin the App, for each geofence of interest; a query is sent for thegeofence(s), not for the region of interest. The geofences areregistered with categories or classes, by way of example and notlimitation, for a city, school, park, etc. (see also case studyillustrated by GUI shown in FIG. 4). A multiplicity of Apps access thegeofences registration information based upon the ROI determined by thelocation services of the mobile device and the query for geofence(s)within the App. For another example, consider an App that only works fora school geofence class; based upon the mobile device running the Appwithin the ROI encompassing the school, the App will actively blockrumor sites or social media sites while the mobile device location(based upon the operating system location services for that device) iswithin the school geofence physical area. For yet another example, anon-regulated car service such as Uber, having an App operable on amobile device (“Uber App”) if the App developer has agreed with thisgeofence policy and developed the App accordingly, then when the mobiledevice is physically or proximally in predetermined location within ageofence, such as an airport, the airport geofence may have restrictionsthat disable or block the Uber App from functioning when the mobiledevice location services indicate that it is within the airportgeofence.

The systems and methods of the present invention further provide forautomatic notification of geofence identification via Apps operating onmobile communication devices including the standard notification ofapproach, enter, exit, and dwell, and augmenting or supplementing themwith important information provided only with the present invention,including geofence ownership, geofence entitlements, geofence use date,and/or messaging with at least one reason code and/or at least oneviolation code. The App functionality may further enable or disablefunctionality of the mobile device based upon the entitlements and/orother supplemental information. By way of example, consider another usecase for a mobile payment App, such as Square App. Food trucks may onlyoperate within a licensed district. A signed certificate or officialpermit or license evidences and represents that the food truck has beengranted a legal permission that is a basis for an entitlement to operatethe food truck within a predetermined or specified time period(duration), geography, and operational hours during days within thepredetermined time or specified time period of the license, permit, orcertificate. A mobile payment App (Square App) or other mobile commerceApp developed to comply with the rule, law, certification, permit, orlicense, will lock or unlock the payment or commerce function of thepoint of sale (POS) App, based upon the geofence and correspondingentitlements detected automatically by the App considered with thelocation services of the mobile device and/or the POS App used by theFood Truck and its location services detected thereby. A notificationmessage is provided on the device hosting the App (POS device and/ormobile device) indicating payment inactivation or other notice toindicate that that payment function is not authorized and/or provide areason code or violation code.

According to the present invention systems and methods, upon receivingan initial query about a region of interest (ROI) from an App operableon a mobile communication device via a network, at least one anchorpoint within the ROI with corresponding classes of geofences isidentified by the at least one server. Upon receiving a second query (orsecond part of information requested in the initial query) to a specificclass if any interest to downselect from the ROI geofences is provided;the specific class is selected from at least a type of class and a classhierarchy that include groups of types of geofence owners and/or groupsof types of use cases. By way of example and not limitation, groups areselected from federal government, state government, city or localgovernment, education or schools, community, residential, fire district,home owner associations, parks, commercial, private, and combinationsthereof. Also, types of commercial groups may be further defined ordetailed.

Significantly, the systems and methods of the present invention providefor high efficiency for delivering query responses using caching ofgeofence information within the ROI from prior queries on unrelatedmobile devices. By managing the balance of zoom level detail withmetadata included with each geofence, the geofence information deliveryefficiency is optimized. More detailed or deeper hierarchy structure forgeofence classes (or zoom level) requires more metadata, by way ofexample and not limitation, for use with Internet of Things (IoT)applications of the present invention.

Also, examples of geofence classes include official signed or certifiedclasses, verified, etc. The classes provide an organized framework forgeofence owners and operators or managers of geofences and entitlementsto communicate with third parties about the existence and intent orconditions of the geofence through the automated systems and methods ofthe present invention for registering and providing for mobile devicelookup or querying to identify the geofences within the ROI based uponthe mobile device location service position. Notification output in realtime or near real time to Apps (or to developers of Apps who determinehow to manage and respond to the geofence information that isregistered).

Prior art provides for proximity-based detection of geofences andnotices for a mobile device that provides for geofence identificationand enter/exit/dwell status of device with respect to the proximity orposition of the device to the geofence; notably, almost all arecentroid-based geofences wherein a signal emitter device or beaconfunctions as a center point for the geofence. By contrast, the presentinvention systems and methods provide for non-centriod geofences thatare more accurate with respect to the geofence boundary than with priorart (present invention is accurate for range to less than 1 cm, and evento less than one micron). The present invention also does not requirethe presence of a signal emitter device or beacon; the mobile deviceitself and at least one App operable thereon for querying for theexistence of geofence(s) in the ROI proximate the mobile device providefor the identification using wireless communication with the geofenceregistration server(s). Also, advantageously, the present inventionprovides for automated notification messages or notices that provide foralert(s) to the mobile device user and/or changes in the graphic userinterface (GUI) of the device for indication of device status withrespect to the geofence (approach enter, exit, dwell) and geofence classand/or entitlements. Features and/or functions of the device may appearor active and disappear or deactivate, provided that controls orsettings on the device are enabled.

By way of example for a residential case or use of the present inventionsystems and methods, a pet tracker App is provided on a mobilecommunication device or smartphone. Location services are activated onthe device and/or in the App. With respect to the residential property,a geofence may be registered for the physical property boundary that iscertified or verified by public records, including location of a housestructure positioned on the property and the real property surroundingit. A backyard only area may be registered as a non-verified geofencethat is acknowledged or identified by the App for use with the pettracker. The App provides for programming of automated triggers that mayindicate messaging or notification that the pet having a geolocationdevice associated with it has changed status with respect to thegeofence(s) (approach, enter, exit, dwell) and the class of each of thegeofences (verified and non-verified).

So in each case the mobile device must identify where the device iswithin the geofence or proximal to it.

Pairing for 2D and 3D geofences is also provided with improved accuracyby the present invention. By way of example, consider the use case wherea mobile device such as a smartphone having an App operable thereon canpair or coordinate with other activated devices within a geofence, suchas a remote controller App for use in activating lights, HVAC, and/oraudio/video devices within a hotel room after the user has checked intothe hotel. The smartphone position with respect to the geofence(s) ofthe hotel overall, but more specifically to only one room within thehotel, requires more accurate positioning with respect to the geofenceand for pairing with devices located within that geofence of the hotelroom only, so that the remote controller App on one device does notaffect controls or settings outside the hotel room geofence (i.e., inanother room where the user is not a registered guest). Entitlements arealso provided in this use case, for example by the HVAC devicemanufacturer, who provides a certificate of entitlement for remotecontrol of the device wirelessly to the hotel; the hotel then hasverified authority to extend the ongoing entitlement (duration of years)to the user who has checked into the hotel (duration of days) duringtheir registered stay only. This illustrates how balancing foroptimization of zoom level or class detail and class pairing is providedto provide for higher zoom level (Internet of Things (HVAC controls, TVcontrols, lighting controls, etc.)) compared with a lower zoom level ordetail in the metadata for real estate more generally.

In yet another example of the systems and methods of the presentinvention, a first step provides that any device that has an App or isprogrammed to request geofence information for a ROI. The device is notlimited to smartphones or mobile phones, but includes any mobile devicehaving a processor coupled with memory that is programmed to query forgeofences and respond according to class and entitlements that it willreceive notices and/or respond to. Where a ROI is provided at 1 km(e.g., at zoom level 15) all classes above that ROI proximity arefiltered out. If any entitlement exists for any geofences returned, areason code or violation code is provided by the fencing agent, whichresponds accordingly, based upon how it has been programmed to respond.Compliance with entitlements is computed locally by the fencing agentbased on factors such as time of day and proximity to a fence. In oneexample use case, a drone flying mobile device having programming or a“drone App” operable thereon automatically queries based upon itsproximity to geofence(s) for its class and zoom range pairing.

Geofence Efficient Lookup or Query by a Fencing Agent

As referenced in FIGS. 5A and 5B hereinbelow, stakeholders in thegeofence registry systems and methods of the present invention use aweb-based portal to configure their account's geofence, includingidentification of classes and/or entitlements; this configuration isstored on the at least one server or account server(s). On start-up, thefencing agent (FA) operable within the App pulls the configuration andvalidates its own signature with its own developer certificate. When theFA is initiated by its containing App, the Fence Delivery Network (FDN)lifecycle returns a set of fence points that my be translated by the FAinto standard fence geometry such as geoJSON (polygon or centroid); uponreceipt of a set of geofences, the FA automatically begins monitoringthe geofences. Indications of classes and/or entitlements are alsoreceived by the FA within the App. The entitlements may indicate thatproximity to a particular corresponding geofence provide for thegeofence owner, operator or manager to request particular GPS powerlevels, FDN caching preferences, resolution, time of day restrictions,or to be promoted to a system level fence on the device's motionco-processor, which offloads monitoring for sleep state awakening. Uponapproaching, entering, exiting, dwelling, or ranging to a geofence edge,the FA wakes or notifies the containing App with metadata includinginformation for the geofence owner, class, signature, certification,and/or verification indications, validity date range or duration, andentitlements.

In the FDN query lifecycle, the mobile device automatically determinesits own geolocation or position by operating system and GPS (i.e., itsown lat/long); the FA converts the lat/long to an IPv6 geofencecoordinate point (or point that is not a lat/long point); the FAdetermines the nearest anchor point for the region of interest (ROI);the FA sends reverse DNS query for the anchor point to at least oneremote server via a network; the FA receives a DNS record including theanchor points of geofence(s) within the ROI, wherein the anchor pointsinclude metadata indicating ownership and use or intended use for thegeofence(s) associated with the anchor point(s); the FA filters anchorpoints based upon subsequent queries and/or based upon grants of useextended to the FA through its developer certificate; the FA sendsreverse DNS query for each of the filtered sets of geofence anchorpoints; the FA receives the DNS record(s) corresponding to andcontaining the constituent points of each geofence (polygon orcentroid); and the FA converts the points to lat/long or othercoordinate system in a geometry format for use by the mobile deviceoperating system and Apps such as geoJSON.

For encoding of anchor points as IPv6 addresses, the range of availablebits for metadata (64+ bits) compared with location data (0-63 bits)depends upon the size of IPv6 allocation, and the optimization of themetadata for zoom, as described hereinabove, such that changing the 64bit boundary for location affects the zoom level or amount of metadataused for class, entitlements, and other geofence owner and intent foruse information. The utility of IPv6 addresses for routing and Internetaccess will be achieved through the alignment of this zoomlevel/metadata boundary with IPv6 CIDR (classless inter-domain routing)and nibble boundries etc. For Internet of Things (IoT) applications,owners of geofences large enough to comprise enough IPv6 addresses tomake an acceptable size router announcement, may announce and utilizetheir block of public address space, which assists IoT devices indiscovery and self-provisioning, for example as described in use caseshereinabove.

Defining the Boundaries of the Geofences

There are many ways to define what constitutes a geofence under thepresent invention. Preferably, the geofence is defined using at leastone geographic designator. Preferably, the geographic designator is acoordinate point or set of coordinate points. However, the geographicdesignator can be any identifying information for a geographic point,location, or area. In one embodiment, the geofence is defined by aseries of coordinate points with lines connecting the series of points.The geofence is preferably a polygon in shape. In another embodiment,the geofence is an irregular shape. In a further embodiment, thegeofence is a regular shape, such as a square, rectangle, triangle,circle, etc.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the geofences are defined byreal property boundaries. Preferably, the real property boundaries arethe boundaries defined by public records for the property. In anotherembodiment, the real property boundaries are user-defined. In oneembodiment, the real property boundaries include public right of wayssuch as roads and sidewalks. In another embodiment, the real propertyboundaries do not include public right of ways. In one embodiment, theboundaries of the real property and/or the boundaries of the geofencesare defined within between about 0.5 microns and about 3 meters. Inanother embodiment, the boundaries of the real property and/or theboundaries of the geofences are defined within between about 0.5 micronsand 1 meter. In another embodiment, the boundaries of the real propertyand/or the boundaries of the geofences are defined within between about0.5 microns and 30 centimeters. Preferably, the boundaries of the realproperty and/or the boundaries of the geofences are defined withinbetween about 0.5 microns and 5 microns. Even more preferably, theboundaries of the real property and/or the boundaries of the geofencesare defined within between about 0.5 microns and 1 micron. Theprecision, accuracy, and/or resolution of the boundaries is dependentupon the nature of the IP address used. Preferably, optimal precision,accuracy, and/or resolution is achieved using an IPv6 address.

In another embodiment, the geofences are defined by the perimeter of astructure, such as a house, an office building, an apartment, anapartment complex, a duplex, half of a duplex, a business, a hotel room,a rented space, or a recreational facility.

In yet another embodiment, the geofences are defined by city or townlimits.

While most preferred embodiments of the present invention are noncentricor noncentroid geofences, or polygon geofences, alternative embodimentsinclude centric or centroid geofences. Centric geofences are defined asthe area within a certain radius of a beacon or other central point ofreference.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the boundaries of thegeofences are permanently defined. In yet another embodiment of thepresent invention, the boundaries of the geofences are temporary.Whether the boundaries of the geofences are permanent or temporarydepends upon the nature of the property being geofenced. For example,geofences surrounding booths at trade shows, are preferably temporarybecause the booths themselves are temporary. Other examples of exemplarytemporary geofences include hotel rooms, groups of hotel rooms, campsites, and construction sites.

Another embodiment of the present invention includes systems and methodsfor updating the boundaries of a geofence. Preferably, the boundaries ofa geofence are updated in a geofence database when the boundaries of thegeofence are modified. In one embodiment, the boundaries of the geofenceare automatically updated. In another embodiment, the boundaries of thegeofence are updated by the owner of the geofence. In yet anotherembodiment, the boundaries of the geofence are updated by a licensee ofthe geofence.

Registering and Verifying a Geofence

The present invention includes a method and system for registering ageofence in the geofence database. In one embodiment, a method forregistering the geofence includes inputting geographic designatorsdefining a geofence, wherein each of the geographic designators areassociated with an Internet Protocol (IP) address, inputting an ownername for the geofence, and submitting the geographic designators andowner name to a geofence database.

Another aspect of the present invention involves methods and systems forverifying the information in the database, including the boundaries ofthe geofences, the IP address associated with the geographic designatorsdefining the geofences, contact information associated with thegeofences, an owner associated with the geofences, licensees of thegeofences, and combinations thereof. In one embodiment, an owner of thegeofence verifies the information associated with that geofence. Inanother embodiment, a third party verifies the information associatedwith geofences.

Database of Geofences

In one embodiment of the present invention a method is provided withsteps for creating a database of geofences, wherein the geofences in thedatabase are associated with an IP address. Preferably, each geofence inthe database is associated with at least one IP address. One embodimentinvolves defining the geofence by the boundaries of the geofence. Inanother embodiment, a set of individual coordinate points are listedalong with a unique IP address associated with each set of individualcoordinate points. Preferably, each set of coordinate points isassociated with only one IP address. In one embodiment, the IP addressis an IPv6 address. In another embodiment, the IP address is an IPv4address. In yet another embodiment, the IP address is a future standardfor determining IP addresses, such as IPv8 or IPvX.

The database of the present invention also preferably includes aplurality of other information associated with each geofence. Along withhaving the geofence, the geographic designators defining the geofence,and associated IP addresses, the geofence database of the presentinvention is operable to provide other useful information involved inthe use of the geofences and corresponding IP addresses. For example,one embodiment of the present invention includes a geofence databasewith an owner name associated with the geofence. In another embodimentof the present invention, the owner contact information is associatedwith the owner name. The contact information preferably includes atleast one of a phone number, an email address, and a mailing address. Inanother embodiment of the present invention, the database includesmessaging functionality within the database itself, so that users canmessage other users and owners of geofences within the databaseplatform. A country, city, town, postal code, street address, community,subdivision, township, other location defining information, andcombinations thereof are preferably associated with the geofence in thedatabase. The length of time that the geofence has been listed in thedatabase is included in one embodiment of the present invention. Anotherembodiment of the present invention includes a length of time that thegeofence has been verified in the database.

In one embodiment, a class associated with the geofence is listed in thedatabase. Exemplary classes include residential, office, shopping malls,airports, arenas, train stations, and government buildings. Preferably,each class contains a plurality of subclasses that are optimized forzoom level, class, etc. Exemplary subclasses for arena use cases includeconcert arenas and sports arenas.

Licensees of the geofence (if any) are also preferably listed inassociation with each geofence within the geofence registry database. Inthe present invention, the term licensee refers to a person or entitywho is granted a license (or entitlements) by the owner of the geofenceto implement or have the opportunity to implement a license orentitlement to the geofence, to operate or manage the geofence, etc.Preferably, the licensee pays the owner of the geofence for theimplementation and/or the opportunity for implementation. In oneembodiment, users of devices within the geofence are bound by theentitlement or license automatically after entering the geofence. Inanother embodiment, users of devices within the geofence are bound bythe entitlement or license after paying consideration. Preferably, thelicensee obtains a license or an entitlement to the geofence in advance,or automatically via interactive licensing through Apps on the mobiledevice after discovery of the geofence(s), based upon the availableentitlements and intended use of the geofence(s). In one embodiment usecase, the entitlement includes a rule restricting content for deviceslocated within the geofence. In another embodiment, the entitlementincludes a rule enabling content for devices located within thegeofence. In yet another embodiment, the entitlement includes a rulerequiring content for devices located within the geofence. In oneembodiment, the rule requiring content for devices located within thegeofence depends upon a user of a device accepting an agreement forcontent to be displayed or installed on the device. In a furtherembodiment, the content is an advertisement. Preferably, the user isallowed to access additional content upon agreeing for the content to bedisplayed or installed on the device. Preferably, the entitlements aremanaged by a geofence entitlement manager, which is operable to activatethe entitlement.

In one embodiment, App developers or app owners opt in for entitlementsto be used in conjunction with their Apps.

There are many reasons licensees may wish to license a geofence and itscorresponding IP addresses. By way of example, Gatorade is a corporatesponsor of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Therefore, Gatoradewould probably prefer to block competitors' (such as Powerade)advertisements and offers at ACC events. Gatorade could thereforepurchase a license to the geofence at the Dean Smith Center in ChapelHill for beverage advertising. However, Geico, another corporate sponsorof the ACC, might also wish to advertise at the Dean Smith Center andblock competitors' advertisements and offers. Since Gatorade and Geicoare not direct competitors, each of them could purchase a license toadvertise and block competitors' advertisements. In the geofencedatabase, Gatorade would be listed as a licensee under a Beveragescategory whereas Geico would be listed as a licensee under an InsuranceProvider category. Licensees are preferably grouped according toindustry. If there is an opportunity to purchase a license for aparticular geofence, this information is preferably listed inassociation with that geofence. Further information about theopportunity to purchase the license is preferably included as well, suchas an asking price for the license, a duration for the license, ahistory of past licensees, and combinations thereof. In one embodiment,the licenses are exclusive license. Preferably the license is exclusivefor one industry. In another embodiment, only one licensee is associatedwith the geofence. In another embodiment, the license is a nonexclusivelicense.

Notwithstanding present day rules by FCC regarding net neutrality, thepresent invention also provides for advertising services which redirectdevices from requested content to content defined by an owner or alicensee of the geofence. In one embodiment, a licensee or owner createsa rule that dictates what content is displayed in response to a user'sInternet search on a device inside the geofence. Preferably, the rule isembodied as an entitlement in the present invention. The dictation ofthe content may determine what content is restricted from being accessedvia the Internet within the geofence, as well as what content appearsfirst in response to an Internet search. For example, if Coca Cola isthe licensee of a geofence, Coca Cola would create a rule which statesthat any Internet searches for Pepsi do not display results associatedwith Pepsi, but only results associated with Coca Cola products.Additionally, in another embodiment, a rule is established that anyattempts to reach a certain company's website are redirected to thewebsite of the owner licensee or owner. For example, if Coca Cola is thelicensee of a geofence, any attempts to access Pepsi's website areredirected to Coca Cola's website. In one embodiment, the licensee paysthe owner each time Internet search results are redirected and/or eachtime attempts to reach a company's website are redirected to thelicensee's website. In another embodiment, the user of a device can optout of receiving certain advertisements or having searches redirected bypaying a fee. Yet another embodiment of the present invention restrictsthe usage of certain applications or apps within the geofence. Anotherembodiment requires the usage of certain applications, apps, or contentwithin the geofence as a condition to the device performing an actionwithin the geofence.

One embodiment of the present invention provides a method for renting orbuying various rights associated with the geofences and/or the IPaddresses associated with the geofences. In another embodiment of thepresent invention, the geofence is listed for sale or rent in thedatabase. For example, the NY Yankees may wish to sale outright theirgeofence rights associated with Yankee Stadium. The new owner wouldcontrol the Internet rights, including Internet advertising rights,within Yankee Stadium. In another embodiment, the NY Yankees may onlywish to rent the geofence rights associated with Yankee Stadium. Therights could be rented for any period of time. In one embodiment, therights are rented for a term of years, a year, a month, a day, or evenan hour. In another embodiment, the rights are rented for a season, agame, or even an inning. In one embodiment, the price of rental rightsfluctuates based on the rental time period.

In a further embodiment, the rights to a geofence are operable to bebought on a per transaction basis by a pay-per-transaction licensee. Inthis embodiment, the pay-per-transaction licensee agrees to pay theowner or a licensee of the geofence for each transaction, i.e. eachadvertisement that is sent on their behalf and/or each advertisement orcontent that is blocked on their behalf. Preferably, thepay-per-transaction licensee submits desired rules to the owner of thegeofence. In one embodiment, the pay-per-transaction licensee submitsthese rules to the owner of the geofence through the database. The ownerof the geofence then accepts these rules and provides a rate on a perrule basis. In one embodiment, the pay-per-transaction licensee pays aretainer amount before the rules are applied. Each transaction thatrequires an amount to be paid is deducted from the retainer amount. Inanother embodiment, the pay-per-transaction licensee's rules areenforced via a credit arrangement, with the owner of the geofencesending the pay-per-transaction licensee a bill at predetermined oragreed time periods.

In another embodiment of the present invention, air rights areassociated with the geofences. Air rights preferably includerestrictions on drones and other flying machines in the airspaceassociated with the geofence.

Preferably, operational rules for the geofence are associated with eachgeofence in the database. The operational rules define the permissionsand restrictions (or entitlements) on wireless activities within thegeofences. In one embodiment, the permissions and restrictions (orentitlements) are determined by one or more licensees. In anotherembodiment, the permissions and restrictions are determined by theowner. In one embodiment, the permissions and restrictions are listed inthe database so that they are visible to users of the database. Inanother embodiment, only certain user-selected permissions andrestrictions (or entitlements) are listed in the database so that theyare visible to users of the database.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the geofence database isupdated at predetermined time intervals. Preferably, the geofencedatabase is automatically updated. Another embodiment of the presentinvention provides for manually or automatically updating ownershipand/or licensee information upon a new ownership and/or licenseagreement.

Preferably, the database is sortable by location, class, verified ornonverified status, owner, licensee, email address, and combinationsthereof.

In another embodiment, the database is searchable. Preferably, allfields displayed to users of the database are searchable, includingfields relating to location, class, verified or nonverified status,owner, licensee, email address, and combinations thereof. Additionally,preferably a search option exists for a user of the database to searchfor all geofences within a certain distance of a location. Preferably, afeature of the database includes an option to display all geofenceswithin a certain distance of the user's current location.

In a further embodiment, the invention provides a WiFi finder app to beused on a device in conjunction with the geofence database. Preferably,the WiFi finder app searches the geofence database and finds WiFi accesspoints located near a location. In one embodiment, the location is thecurrent location of the device. Preferably, the device is a mobiledevice. In a further embodiment, the device automatically searches forWiFi access points located near the location of the device.

In one embodiment, the database is accessible through a computer. Inanother embodiment, the database is accessible through a mobile phone.Preferably, the database is accessible through an app on the mobilephone.

Electronic Device Preferences

One embodiment of the present invention involves creating a list ofdevice preferences within the geofence database. Preferably, the devicepreferences include information relating to the device and the user ofthe device, including demographic characteristics such as age, sex, andfamily status as well as preferences for certain products or services.Preferably, the preferences for certain products or services arepreferences that stretch across industries. In one embodiment, thelicensee pays a fee to obtain access to preferences that are not withinthe licensee's business or industry. By way of example, if Coca Cola isthe owner or licensee of the Yankee Stadium geofence, it desires tomaximize the sale of all its brands. Thus, instead of sending genericCoca Cola advertisements to all users in the geofence, device and userpreferences would dictate which brand advertisements are sent to whichuser(s). A young mother or a user who has indicated a preference forMinute Maid juice would be more likely to receive an advertisement forMinute Maid instead of Coca Cola. Someone who has expressed a preferencefor health products would be more likely to receive advertisements forvitamin enhanced water, or another “healthier” brand of Coca Cola.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a list of devicespermitted to access the Internet within a geofence is associated withthe geofence in the geofence database. An administrator, owner, orlicensee of the geofence grants access in one embodiment. In anotherembodiment, a user of a device requests access and access isautomatically granted based on the user's acceptance of an agreement orterms relating to the access. In another embodiment, a list of devicesprohibited from accessing the Internet within a geofence is associatedwith the geofence. In a further embodiment, the database of the presentinvention is updated in real-time or near real-time and includes a listof the number and identity of devices currently using the Internetwithin the geofence. In another embodiment, the database includes a listof the number and identity of devices that have used the Internet withina predetermined time period, such as the last hour, last day, last week,or last year.

Analytics

One embodiment of the present invention relates to providing analyticsfor geofences and the corresponding IP addresses. Preferably, theanalytics are accessible through the database. In one embodiment,analytics include determining a number of devices which have accessedand/or attempted to access the Internet within a geofence for aparticular time period or overall. Another embodiment includesdetermining the number of advertisements that have been sent to deviceswithin the geofence. Preferably, the number of advertisements is furthersorted into the number of advertisements sent on behalf of the owner andlicensees. The number of advertisements preferably includes a breakdownof the number of each type of advertisement sent and the number of aparticular advertisement sent. Additionally, the present inventionprovides for analytics relating to the number of advertisements blockedwithin the geofence and/or the number of redirected searches within thegeofence. In another embodiment, the present invention includesstatistics relating to the volume of sales of a product or servicewithin the geofence. Preferably, the product or service is a product orservice sold by the owner or licensee of the geofence. In anotherembodiment, the product or service is a product or service sold by thecompetitor of the owner or licensee of the geofence. In anotherembodiment of the present invention, the analytics include analyticsrelating to the number of offers distributed by a licensee or owner ofthe geofence and the number of those offers accepted by users of deviceswithin the geofence. In yet another embodiment of the present invention,the analytics include analytics relating to how many times individualdevices have entered the geofence, an average duration for the timespent by the device in the geofence, and combinations thereof

Geofence Classes

Geofences are created to serve different intents with differentfunctionalities. Geofences can be created for residential propertieswith control and management and surveillance functionality. In oneembodiment, such a geofence will block drones flying across into theterritory of this residential property. In another embodiment, vehiclesequipped with communication systems, when entering or leaving theresidential property geofence, will trigger a notification to the owner.In yet another embodiment, people with mobile devices can triggernotifications to the owner as well so that the owner knows who they are,friends, relatives, neighbors, or intruders.

Geofences can also be created at business locales for fair competitionand management. In one embodiment, customers in a first pizza shopcannot receive advertisements or coupons from a second pizza shop acrossthe street due the control of the geofence for the first pizza shop.

Geofences can also be created for public or private schools for thepurpose of protection. In one embodiment, unwanted information andadvertisements are block out of the school territory for the safetyreason. In another embodiment, a school geofence can recognizeunauthorized persons entering the geofence if there is a mobile devicewith them so as to take further actions.

Although geofences have traditionally been stationary, a strong needexists for creating mobile geofences. These geofences are defined as apolygon or a shape around a mobile object, such as a vehicle, plane, orboat. Additionally, the mobile geofences are defined centrally withrespect to the object, by a beacon or other indicator located in theobject in one embodiment. Rules for mobile geofences preferably relateto advertising within the mobile geofences. In one embodiment, rules forthe mobile geofences relate to functionalities of devices within themobile geofences. In one embodiment, a rule prohibits text messagingwithin a mobile geofence around a vehicle. Another example of anembodiment prohibits advertising by a competitor. An example would beprohibiting advertisements relating to a competitor's cruise ship withinthe mobile geofence of a particular cruise ship.

A further embodiment of the present invention includes permanentlyprohibiting advertising in a mobile geofence based on a brand of themobile object. For example, a Toyota would include a mobile geofencewhich prohibits advertising by Ford, Chevrolet, BMW, etc. within theToyota.

Geofences can also be created on certain highway sections, busyintersections, and high accident locations for safety management. In oneembodiment, when moving vehicles are within such geofences, all themobile device are disabled for texting, website browsing, calling exceptemergency calls.

Preferably, vehicle makers and application developers opt in geofencefunctionalities as a standard to provide customers safer and moreflexible experiences.

Fence Delivery Network

Fundamentally, the present invention relies on a coordinate system basedon IP addresses, where an IP address, preferably an IPv6 address, isused to describe an exact point on earth on micron level. Traditionally,a coordinate point with a longitude value and a latitude value is usedto describe a geographic point on earth. However, with the presentinvention, an IP address is also associated with a geographic point. TheIP address and coordinate point can be converted to each other forrelated lookups. Preferably, the IPv6 address is only used to determinethe anchor point associated with the geofence(s). A single anchor pointis computed independently when the lat/long is automatically convertedto an IPv6 address for the ROI anchor point; this is the only time theIPv6 address is used within the systems and methods of the presentinvention. The constituent points of fence geometry are also expressedin IP addresses. The ROI anchor and fence anchor are the only uses ofDNS queries.

A method for querying a database of registered geofences is disclosed. Arequest associated with an IP address is received by a server/processor.The IP address is converted to an anchor point of geographic locationwithin the ROI in the processor. One or more geofences having respectivegeographic areas that overlap with the anchor point identified. Therequest is a DNS query and accordingly, the response a DNS response.Information describing the identified geofences is encoded in the IPaddresses and the list of fence IP address points are returned in theDNS response. The information includes an indication whether aparticular geofence is verified or unverified, a class of the identifiedgeofence, an entitlement of the geofence, a time-to-live value relatedto the geofence, and metes and bounds of the geofence, which togetherprovide the information about the registered geofence and its intendeduse(s) as registered by the owner of the geofence (i.e., theentitlements provide the intended use information).

In one embodiment, a user device is location-aware, which means that auser device is able to determine its own location by use of relevanttechnology, such as GPS, iBeacon, WiFi and etc. The user deviceindependently converts a coordinate point describing its location(lat/long automatically determined by the device location services) toan IP address, preferably IPv6 address.

A fence delivery network comprises a server and one or more geofencedatabases communicating over network with a fencing agent (FA) containedwithin or operable within an App on a device (or otherwise programmedfor operation on the mobile device). A geocoder module or anIP-Coordinate converter in the server performs the conversion between anIP address to a coordinate point of a geographic location. Asearch/query module in the server queries one or more geofencedatabases. The one or more databases can be centralized ordecentralized. This fence delivery network a very robust system thatsupplies every internet connected device with IP/Coordinate andCoordinate/IP mappings in a very distributed, redundant and faulttolerant way.

Visualization

A Graphical User Interface is used for geofence registration, lookup andpermissions.

Registration GUI

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a user registers ageofence via a geofence registration GUI. Preferably, the geofence GUIincludes a map. In one embodiment, the user defines the geofence on themap. In a further embodiment, the user defines the geofence on the mapby outlining the perimeter of the geofence on the map. In anotherembodiment, the user defines the geofence on the map by indicating thelocation and the range of the beacon on the map. In yet anotherembodiment, the user enters a street address associated with a geofenceand the associated real property boundaries of the geofence areautomatically drawn onto the map.

Lookup and Permission GUI

With a geofence query GUI, a user can search on metadata and certificatedetails, since neither the stakeholders using the GUI nor the appdevelopers are aware of the IP addresses. There is another button“geofence search”, it will pull up all the identified geofences relatedto the IP address and the associated geofence information. Search termslike “verified, active, Amazon, drone, barking” (by way of example andnot limitation) would yield a set of fences with a visual depiction oftheir geometry on the map.

There is also a 2D interactive map, it shows the boundary of eachidentified geofence and a label indicating some of the geofenceinformation, such as verified or unverified, entitled or not, and asummary of the data content within the geofence. This 2D interactive mapprovides a visual overlay or comparison of IPv6 addresses and geographiccoordinate points with high resolution. In other embodiments, a 3Dinteractive map may be used to provide for global coverage.

In one embodiment, the map of geofences is color coded. Preferably,geofences are coded by color according to at least one of a class, apermanent or temporary status, an owner status, a licensee status, usagestatistics, verification status, precedence, etc. In one embodiment, themap is accessible via a mobile device. In a further embodiment, the mapis operable to be accessed and manipulated using a touch screen. In oneembodiment, a user clicks on an area on the map associated with ageofence to request access to the geofence.

In one embodiment, a desktop computer with internet connection can beused to perform the query via this GUI. In another (preferred)embodiment, a mobile device with an application installed is used toperform the query. In this embodiment, there may be a “connect” or“enter” button for a geofence. Once the mobile device will haveinteractions with the selected.

Messaging/Notification

One embodiment is that a user/a user's mobile device searches availablegeofences and related information, and then the user selects which onehe wants to connect or enter. Once the user hits “enter” button for aspecific geofence, there will be interaction between the mobile deviceand the specific geofence server.

There may be “terms and conditions” for the geofence entrance, forexample, that geofence server has access to your mobile device andcollect data, certain laws and rules are enforced within the geofence,and etc. Geofences may be free or fee required to enter. If there is acertain fee, payment page is transmitted to the mobile device. Once theuser accepts the terms and conditions and pays the fee if required, theuser/mobile device is allowed to enter the geofence via a notification.This way, the user/mobile device can receive information this specificgeofence has. There may be different levels of fees and bases on the feelevel, based on the fee level, there are different levels of informationaccess for the users, such as basic, premium, enterprise and etc. Auser/mobile device may enter more than one geofence at the same time.There are entrance procedures similar to the above description.

Another embodiment is that once the user/a user's mobile devicephysically is within certain geofences, there are notifications poppingup, similar to the wifi alert on the user's mobile device if the WiFi ison. At this time, the user/mobile device can still query the geofencedatabase to get more information about the available geofences and thendecides which geofence(s) to enter.

In another embodiment, the mobile device may be admitted to certaingeofences automatically once it is within the boundary of thosegeofences. In some circumstances, the user/mobile device may receiveunwanted advertisements or other annoying information or services, theuser has the option to exit or block those geofences, or block receivingcertain information. Preferably, the fence delivery network applicationinstalled mobile device can identify “obnoxious” or unsecure or junkgeofences and display warnings or notifications to the user as a kind oflocation-based service.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

Referring now to the figures, they are provided for illustration of thepresent invention and are not intended to limit the claims thereto.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an embodiment of the inventionillustrating a computer system, generally described as 800, having anetwork 810, a plurality of computing devices 820, 830, 840, a server850 and a database 870.

The server 850 is constructed, configured and coupled to enablecommunication over a network 810 with a computing devices 820, 830, 840.The server 850 includes a processing unit 851 with an operating system852. The operating system 852 enables the server 850 to communicatethrough network 810 with the remote, distributed user devices. Database870 may house an operating system 872, memory 874, and programs 876.

In one embodiment of the invention, the system 800 includes acloud-based network 810 for distributed communication via a wirelesscommunication antenna 812 and processing by a plurality of mobilecommunication computing devices 830. In another embodiment of theinvention, the system 800 is a virtualized computing system capable ofexecuting any or all aspects of software and/or application componentspresented herein on the computing devices 820, 830, 840. In certainaspects, the computer system 800 may be implemented using hardware or acombination of software and hardware, either in a dedicated computingdevice, or integrated into another entity, or distributed acrossmultiple entities or computing devices.

By way of example, and not limitation, the computing devices 820, 830,840 are intended to represent various forms of digital computers 820,840, 850 and mobile devices 830, such as a server, blade server,mainframe, mobile phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a smartphone, a desktop computer, a netbook computer, a tablet computer, aworkstation, a laptop, and other similar computing devices. Thecomponents shown here, their connections and relationships, and theirfunctions, are meant to be exemplary only, and are not meant to limitimplementations of the invention described and/or claimed in thisdocument.

In one embodiment, the computing device 820 includes components such asa processor 860, a system memory 862 having a random access memory (RAM)864 and a read-only memory (ROM) 866, and a system bus 868 that couplesthe memory 862 to the processor 860. In another embodiment, thecomputing device 830 may additionally include components such as astorage device 890 for storing the operating system 892 and one or moreapplication programs 894, a network interface unit 896, and/or aninput/output controller 898. Each of the components may be coupled toeach other through at least one bus 868. The input/output controller 898may receive and process input from, or provide output to, a number ofother devices 899, including, but not limited to, alphanumeric inputdevices, mice, electronic styluses, display units, touch screens, signalgeneration devices (e.g., speakers) or printers.

By way of example, and not limitation, the processor 860 may be ageneral-purpose microprocessor (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU)),a graphics processing unit (GPU), a microcontroller, a Digital SignalProcessor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), aField Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), a Programmable Logic Device (PLD),a controller, a state machine, gated or transistor logic, discretehardware components, or any other suitable entity or combinationsthereof that can perform calculations, process instructions forexecution, and/or other manipulations of information.

In another implementation, shown as 840 in FIG. ##, multiple processors860 and/or multiple buses 868 may be used, as appropriate, along withmultiple memories 862 of multiple types (e.g., a combination of a DSPand a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or moremicroprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core).

Also, multiple computing devices may be connected, with each deviceproviding portions of the necessary operations (e.g., a server bank, agroup of blade servers, or a multi-processor system). Alternatively,some steps or methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific toa given function.

According to various embodiments, the computer system 800 may operate ina networked environment using logical connections to local and/or remotecomputing devices 820, 830, 840, 850 through a network 810. A computingdevice 830 may connect to a network 810 through a network interface unit896 connected to the bus 868. Computing devices may communicatecommunication media through wired networks, direct-wired connections orwirelessly such as acoustic, RF or infrared through an antenna 897 incommunication with the network antenna 812 and the network interfaceunit 896, which may include digital signal processing circuitry whennecessary. The network interface unit 896 may provide for communicationsunder various modes or protocols.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the instructions may be implemented inhardware, software, firmware, or any combinations thereof. A computerreadable medium may provide volatile or non-volatile storage for one ormore sets of instructions, such as operating systems, data structures,program modules, applications or other data embodying any one or more ofthe methodologies or functions described herein. The computer readablemedium may include the memory 862, the processor 860, and/or the storagemedia 890 and may be a single medium or multiple media (e.g., acentralized or distributed computer system) that store the one or moresets of instructions 900. Non-transitory computer readable mediaincludes all computer readable media, with the sole exception being atransitory, propagating signal per se. The instructions 900 may furtherbe transmitted or received over the network 810 via the networkinterface unit 896 as communication media, which may include a modulateddata signal such as a carrier wave or other transport mechanism andincludes any delivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means asignal that has one or more of its characteristics changed or set in amanner as to encode information in the signal.

Storage devices 890 and memory 862 include, but are not limited to,volatile and non-volatile media such as cache, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM,FLASH memory or other solid state memory technology, disks or discs(e.g., digital versatile disks (DVD), HD-DVD, BLU-RAY, compact disc(CD), CD-ROM, floppy disc) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other medium that can be used to store the computer readableinstructions and which can be accessed by the computer system 800.

It is also contemplated that the computer system 800 may not include allof the components shown in FIG. 1, may include other components that arenot explicitly shown in FIG. 1, or may utilize an architecturecompletely different than that shown in FIG. 1. The various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, elements, circuits, and algorithms described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented aselectronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. Toclearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software,various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and stepshave been described above generally in terms of their functionality.Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or softwaredepends upon the particular application and design constraints imposedon the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the describedfunctionality in varying ways for each particular application (e.g.,arranged in a different order or partitioned in a different way), butsuch implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for delivering geofence information based on arequest. A user send out a DNS request associated with an IP address202. A server converts the IP address to a coordinate point ofgeographic location and query a geofence database 204. Then one or moregeofences overlapping at the coordinate point are identified 206. Theserver then returns a DNS response including information describing theidentified one or more geofences 208.

FIG. 3 is an embodiment of GUI for the geofence delivery network. A usercan enter latitude and longitude values in a box on the GUI 302, thenselects the button “Geofence search” 304. Then, all the identifiedgeofences are identified and listed on the GUI with correspondinginformation 306. There is also an interactive map displaying theidentified geofences 308. In this illustrated example, there are threegeofences identified. Their name, class, entitlement, verification, andcontent information are displayed accordingly. In the interactive map,boundaries of the three geofences G1 (black) 310, G2 (green) 312, and G3(red) 314 are differentiated with different line types. Meanwhile, theconverted coordinate point 316 is also noted in the map.

FIG. 4 illustrates one embodiment of a GUI for fence delivery network402, including several options of defining a geofence, includingdefining the geofence by real property boundaries, defining the geofenceby the radius around a beacon, defining the geofence by the perimeter ofa building. By way of example and not limitation, a use case foridentifying geofences associated with Dog Parks is shown, indicating thelocations of the Dog Parks 404 based upon the City of SF, and public usehours and restrictions 406 are also indicated. Also illustrated are MyFences, which in this use case include the user's home geofence (MyHouse) 408 and Fire Hydrants 410 are also identified. All of these areautomatically indicated with geographic proximity to each other andvisually represented in 2-D map view on the GUI of the user's mobiledevice.

FIGS. 5A & 5B show a flowchart illustrating steps for querying ageofence database. The FIG. 5A flowchart includes an FA 502, a LocalCaching DNS 504, an ISP or Cellular Carrier DNS 506, a GeoFrenzyAuthoritative DNS 508, and a GeoFrenzy Authoritative Account Service510. Steps include determines IPv6 ROI anchor point 512, Reverse queryfor ROI anchor point 514, Fence Anchor Points+metadata 516, Reversequery for fence anchor point 518, Fence Points 520, and reconstructgeoJSON fence from points 522. FIG. 5B is a cached response for stepsfor querying a geofence database.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating zoom level to class binding when usinga pyramid projection 600. As shown, Drones are provided on a zoom level9-14 602; Pet Tracker is provided on a zoom level 17 604; and Hotel RoomHVAC/Lighting is provided on a zoom level 25 606. In a current pyramidprojection according to the present invention, the highest order bits ofIP addresses are used to represent a location the lower order bits areused to express metadata such as fence classes, entitlements, and lookuptable identifiers (for the purpose of redefining the metadata bits inthe future). In other embodiments, the metadata can be expressed on anyaspect of DNS or IP, such as DNS RR (resource records), certificates,keys or IPv6 scopes. In a current pyramid projection according to thepresent invention, there are trillions of potential bits to be used asmetadata in every square millimeter of location. These bits, when set to1 will represent an intersection of class, entitlements and lookup tablefor this square centimeter location.

FIG. 7 illustrates a 3-D model overview illustrating how the surface ofthe Earth is not a perfect sphere 702; however, as provided by thepresent invention, a sphere map is generated automatically consisting ofpoints that are represented by IPv6 addresses that superficially wraparound or cover the Earth such that the sphere map encompasses thehighest features to represent or approximate the Earth's surface for usewith the present invention generation of geofences registry, lookup,categorization within at least one database for geofences.

FIG. 8 is a 2-D model overview illustrating another view of mapping theearth 706 for providing visualization of geofences according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 9 is a PRIOR ART schematic diagram for geofencing solutions.Current prior art geofencing solutions are generally based on centroidfences and the data emitted by the location service frameworks consistsof simple messages containing the fence identification (ID) and a noticeof entry 902, exit 904, or dwelling 906 inside of the fence 900.

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram for geofencing solutions according to thepresent invention. By contrast and differentiation from prior art, thepresent invention provides for augmentation of messaging. Theapproaching 920, entering 902, exiting 904, and dwelling 906 messagesare augmented with metadata describing the ownership and purpose of ageofence through a hierarchy of classes 922. The purpose of a geofenceis defined to include the intended and/or allowed use of services insideor within the geofence boundaries, which are expressed through a systemof entitlements that are received as inputs and stored in the at leastone geofence database and associated with the geofence data.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating the encoding of a class andentitlement on an IPv6 address. While this illustration isoversimplified, its depiction of encoding of a class and entitlement onan IPv6 address may be extended to provide for billions of positions perlocation. The lat/long point 1102 is the edge of a floating bitboundary; the dots 1104 represent the anchor points that the systems andmethods of the present invention use for metadata rather than forlocation. The neighboring lat/long point 1105 is the next usable pointunder which the depicted and described process starts again (orrepeats). Significantly, there is only one bit of metadata for eachanchor point, but there can be multiple points for each geofence,according to the present invention; this provides for and allowsmultiple classes and/or entitlements to be expressed and associated witheach geofence. In the example case used for this FIG. 11, four exampleentitlements are illustrated: Notification 1106, Drone Landing 1108,Connect VPN 1110, and Camera 1112; they have corresponding colorizedpoints, respectively: red, green, yellow, and blue. The example case isprovided for illustration purposes only, and does not intend to limitthe claimed invention thereto; the example case shows a user(Jenny/Jenny's Flowers) 1114 who would like to allow delivery drones toland for pickup and dropoff inside a predetermined geofence having ananchor point at lat/long as illustrated. Each point is a neighboringlat/long point; Owner 1 1116, Owner 2 1118, Bob's Tacos 1120, Jenny'sFlowers 1114, and John Jones 1122 are all indicated in this example asgeofence owners; Class 1 1124, Class 2 1126, Flower Shops 1128, andJohn's house 1130 are all indicated as geofence classes associated withthe indicated example entitlements. The green point activated forJenny's Flowers user/owner and for Flower Shops 1132 that allows for theentitlement of Drone Landing (green point) is highlighted to indicate anintended or allowable use of that geofence by the geofence owner.

By way of definition and description supporting the claimed subjectmatter, preferably, the present invention includes communicationmethodologies for transmitting data, data packets, messages or messagingvia a communication layer. Wireless communications over a network arepreferred. Correspondingly, and consistent with the communicationmethodologies for transmitting data or messaging according to thepresent invention, as used throughout this specification, figures andclaims, wireless communication is provided by any reasonable protocol orapproach, by way of example and not limitation, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi,cellular, zigbee, near field communication, and the like; the term“ZigBee” refers to any wireless communication protocol adopted by theInstitute of Electronics & Electrical Engineers (IEEE) according tostandard 802.15.4 or any successor standard(s), the term “Wi-Fi” refersto any communication protocol adopted by the IEEE under standard 802.11or any successor standard(s), the term “WiMax” refers to anycommunication protocol adopted by the IEEE under standard 802.16 or anysuccessor standard(s), and the term “Bluetooth” refers to anyshort-range communication protocol implementing IEEE standard 802.15.1or any successor standard(s). Additionally or alternatively to WiMax,other communications protocols may be used, including but not limited toa “1G” wireless protocol such as analog wireless transmission, firstgeneration standards based (IEEE, ITU or other recognized worldcommunications standard), a “2G” standards based protocol such as “EDGEor CDMA 2000 also known as 1×RTT”, a 3G based standard such as “HighSpeed Packet Access (HSPA) or Evolution for Data Only (EVDO), anyaccepted 4G standard such as “IEEE, ITU standards that include WiMax,Long Term Evolution “LTE” and its derivative standards, any Ethernetsolution wireless or wired, or any proprietary wireless or power linecarrier standards that communicate to a client device or anycontrollable device that sends and receives an IP based message. Theterm “High Speed Packet Data Access (HSPA)” refers to any communicationprotocol adopted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) oranother mobile telecommunications standards body referring to theevolution of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) standardbeyond its third generation Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS) protocols. The term “Long Term Evolution (LTE)” refers to anycommunication protocol adopted by the ITU or another mobiletelecommunications standards body referring to the evolution ofGSM-based networks to voice, video and data standards anticipated to bereplacement protocols for HSPA. The term “Code Division Multiple Access(CDMA) Evolution Date-Optimized (EVDO) Revision A (CDMA EVDO Rev. A)”refers to the communication protocol adopted by the ITU under standardnumber TIA-856 Rev. A.

It will be appreciated that embodiments of the invention describedherein may be comprised of one or more conventional processors andunique stored program instructions that control the one or moreprocessors to implement, in conjunction with certain non-processorcircuits, some, most, or all of the functions for the systems andmethods as described herein. The non-processor circuits may include, butare not limited to, radio receivers, radio transmitters, antennas,modems, signal drivers, clock circuits, power source circuits, relays,current sensors, and user input devices. As such, these functions may beinterpreted as steps of a method to distribute information and controlsignals between devices. Alternatively, some or all functions could beimplemented by a state machine that has no stored program instructions,or in one or more application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), inwhich each function or some combinations of functions are implemented ascustom logic. Of course, a combination of the two approaches could beused. Thus, methods and means for these functions have been describedherein. Further, it is expected that one of ordinary skill in the art,notwithstanding possibly significant effort and many design choicesmotivated by, for example, available time, current technology, andeconomic considerations, when guided by the concepts and principlesdisclosed herein, will be readily capable of generating such softwareinstructions, programs and integrated circuits (ICs), and appropriatelyarranging and functionally integrating such non-processor circuits,without undue experimentation.

Certain modifications and improvements will occur to those skilled inthe art upon a reading of the foregoing description. The above-mentionedexamples are provided to serve the purpose of clarifying the aspects ofthe invention and it will be apparent to one skilled in the art thatthey do not serve to limit the scope of the invention. All modificationsand improvements have been deleted herein for the sake of concisenessand readability but are properly within the scope of the presentinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for looking up geofences in a geofencedatabase comprising: determining a geographic location; identifying ageofence associated with the geographic location in the geofencedatabase, wherein boundaries of the geofence are defined by a pluralityof geographic designators; and determining a unique Internet Protocol(IP) address associated with each of the plurality of geographicdesignators; wherein an anchor point of the geofence includes metadata,wherein the metadata includes at least one class or at least oneentitlement; verifying the metadata, wherein the metadata furtherincludes an owner associated with the geofence and a plurality oflicensees of the geofence; restricting or allowing usage of applicationson a mobile device including a processor and a memory based on the atleast one class or the at least one entitlement; and disabling themobile device for network functionality within the geofence based on theat least one class or the at least one entitlement; wherein the at leastone class determines a precedence of the geofence in relation to anoverlapping geofence.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying thegeofence associated with the geographic location in the geofencedatabase is automatically performed by the mobile device upon the mobiledevice coming within a physical proximity of the geographic location. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein the unique IP address is an IP version 6(IPv6) address.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of theplurality of unique IP addresses assigned to the plurality of geographicdesignators is the anchor point of the geofence.
 5. The method of claim4, wherein the anchor point of the geofence is a unique identifier ofthe geofence.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein determining thegeographic location occurs through Global Positioning System (GPS). 7.The method of claim 1, wherein the geofence is a mobile geofence, andwherein a plurality of IP addresses correspond to boundaries of at leastone mobile object or points within the at least one mobile object.
 8. Asystem for looking up geofences in a geofence database comprising: aserver including at least one processor and a memory and the geofencedatabase, wherein the geofence database includes a geofence; a mobiledevice operable to determine a geographic location and communicate thegeographic location over at least one network to the server; wherein theserver is operable to identify a geofence associated with the geographiclocation in the geofence database, wherein boundaries of the geofenceare defined by a plurality of geographic designators; wherein a uniqueInternet Protocol (IP) address associated with each of the plurality ofgeographic designators is operable to be determined; wherein an anchorpoint of the geofence includes metadata, wherein the metadata includesat least one class or at least one entitlement; wherein the metadata isoperable to be verified, and wherein the metadata further includes anowner associated with the geofence and a plurality of licensees of thegeofence; wherein usage of applications on the mobile device isrestricted or allowed based on the at least one class or the at leastone entitlement; wherein the mobile device is disabled for networkfunctionality within the geofence based on the at least one class or theat least one entitlement; and wherein the at least one class determinesa precedence of the geofence in relation to an overlapping geofence. 9.The system of claim 8, wherein the geofence associated with thegeographic location in the geofence database is automatically identifiedby the mobile device upon the mobile device coming within a physicalproximity of the geographic location.
 10. The system of claim 8, whereinthe unique IP address is an IP version 6 (IPv6) address.
 11. The systemof claim 8, wherein at least one of the plurality of unique IP addressesassigned to the plurality of geographic designators is the anchor pointof the geofence.
 12. The system of claim 8, wherein the anchor point ofthe geofence is a unique identifier of the geofence.
 13. The system ofclaim 8, wherein determining the geographic location occurs throughGlobal Positioning System (GPS).
 14. The system of claim 8, wherein thegeofence is a mobile geofence, and wherein a plurality of IP addressescorrespond to boundaries of at least one mobile object or points withinthe at least one mobile object.
 15. An apparatus for looking upgeofences in a geofence database comprising: a server including at leastone processor and the geofence database, wherein the geofence databaseincludes the geofence; wherein the server is in network communicationwith a mobile device operable to determine a geographic location andcommunicate the geographic location over at least one network to theserver; wherein the server is operable to identify a geofence associatedwith the geographic location in the geofence database, whereinboundaries of the geofence are defined by a plurality of geographicdesignators; wherein a unique Internet Protocol (IP) address associatedwith each of the plurality of geographic designators is operable to bedetermined; wherein an anchor point of the geofence includes metadata,wherein the metadata includes at least one class or at least oneentitlement; wherein the metadata is operable to be verified, andwherein the metadata further includes an owner associated with thegeofence and a plurality of licensees of the geofence; wherein usage ofapplications on the mobile device is restricted or allowed based on theat least one class or the at least one entitlement; wherein the mobiledevice is disabled for network functionality within the geofence basedon the at least one class or the at least one entitlement; and whereinthe at least one class determines a precedence of the geofence inrelation to an overlapping geofence.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15,wherein the geofence associated with the geographic location in thegeofence database is automatically identified by the mobile device uponthe mobile device coming within a physical proximity of the geographiclocation.
 17. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the unique IP addressis an IP version 6 (IPv6) address.
 18. The apparatus of claim 15,wherein at least one of the plurality of unique IP addresses assigned tothe plurality of geographic designators is the anchor point of thegeofence.
 19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the anchor point of thegeofence is a unique identifier of the geofence.
 20. The apparatus ofclaim 15, wherein the geofence is a mobile geofence, and wherein aplurality of IP addresses correspond to boundaries of at least onemobile object or points within the at least one mobile object.